Studies

After the horrific massacre of children in Newtown last year, the entertainment industry promised parents “tools” to protect their children from media violence. The PTC’s new study shows how well the networks have kept their promise.

On Nov. 11, 2013, a new study released by researchers from the Annenberg Public Policy Center and Ohio State University found that “that gun violence in PG-13–rated films has more than tripled since 1985….Since 2009, PG-13–rated films have contained as much or more violence as R-rated films films.”

In the wake of the school shooting in Newtown, the entertainment industry promised “to provide parents the tools necessary to make the right viewing decisions for their families.” Now, a new study shows how they’ve kept that promise: more gun violence than ever in PG-13 movies.

Kids spend more time engaging with media than any other activity except sleeping. This week, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued new guidelines urging parents to restrict their kids’ media time to two hours per day.

Despite making billions of dollars a year from showing commercials (the entire purpose of which is to influence behavior), the entertainment industry loves to claim that viewer behavior is not influenced by violence shown in media. But a new report from the National Academy of Sciences says differently.